My Favorite Mistake
by AB24
Summary: Complete. Kim & Tony's paths cross post Day 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Huge, HUGE thanks and love to Scoob2222, who wrote the NC 17 portion of this fic and did it 20,000 times better than I ever could. She is my hero. **

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He sat at his desk and watched silently as the clock hanging on the wall of his office ticked away and ushered in the midnight hour. He sighed and looked back down to the pile of paperwork in front of him, knowing he could have been home an hour ago had he been focused on getting it done. But he was tired after this latest work day turned night, and the pile of papers seemed to grow larger instead of smaller as the hour dragged on. He even caught himself nodding off s couple of times, jolted awake once by the ring of his phone and another time by the thud of his own head sliding off his hand to the desk underneath.

Then the thought occurred to him. _Yes_, George had dumped this on him with the half-threat that he'd better get it done and sent off to Division before the night was over, a threat he then followed up on crawling home and crashing himself. Anger began to simmer at the very thought of the CTU director curled up asleep in a warm & comfortable bed, so he cast it out of his mind before deciding that leaving the paperwork to be finished the next day was not a fireable offense. He turned off his desk light and tossed the pen in his hand down haphazardly before pushing his chair backwards with his heels and straining to stand up out of it. He tried to ignore the pins & needles shooting through his newly awakened legs and feet as he pushed the chair back into the desk and turned to grab his jacket across the room. He had reached the door and had his hand wrapped around the handle when the phone rang from his desk.

He closed his eyes and dropped his head as the first ring faded and gave way to the second, the urge to ignore it and continue on his way almost overwhelming. But by the third ring he let his hand leave the door and fall to his side, sighing heavily as he returned to his desk and yanked the phone off its cradle. He pressed it to his ear and scowled as he bitterly answered, "Almeida."

"Yeah, Tony, you wouldn't believe who LAPD just dumped on our laps," came the answer from an analyst also working overtime.

"Who?" he asked, glancing back at the clock and cringing slightly.

"Kim Bauer. Apparently today's her birthday, and some cops picked her up for celebrating a little too hard. I guess she convinced one of them to bring her here, but I'm not really sure how."

A dull ache spread from his gut as Tony squinted and prayed to God he had heard wrong. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope, no joke. And she asked for you specifically, too."

He took a breath and held it, pausing only briefly before replying, "Alright...take her to the conference room. I'll be down in a minute."

Tony hung up the phone and hesitated before heading on his way. He hadn't seen Kim, or her father, since her mother's funeral four and a half months ago. He knew what he heard - that she & Jack were barely speaking, and that Jack wasn't the only one on a downward spiral of sorts - but it wasn't his business anymore, or so he thought. Putting sleep out of his mind for the thousandth time that day, he turned and headed for the door - and managed to walk out of it this time.

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His surprise had turned to annoyance on his way down to the conference room, clouding his mind with the realization that he was going to have to call Jack for the first time in months, and to tell him this? He was already sifting through his thoughts, trying to piece together a way to break it to him lightly when he reached the room and mindlessly swung the door open without thought as to what he would find inside.

Kim, sitting stiffly with her arms crossed tightly against her chest, looked up at the sound and met Tony's eyes before quickly reverting to staring at the table in front of her. He came to a pause in the doorway and narrowed his stare, the general unpleasantness of the situation increasing exponentially when faced with the reality of her attire. Returning Kim to her father was going to be challenging enough - but returning her in the lowest of low-slung jeans, spike heels and a barely passable black tank top, well, that was pushing it.

He looked away and stepped inside, approaching the two police officers escorting her and signing a couple of release forms they handed to him, all without a word. Nods were exchanged and the cops were gone, presumably as tired as everyone else was. Then they were alone, the awkwardness palpable but not unbearable as Tony slowly stepped forward and, still not earning more from her than a seemingly shame-tipped sideways glance, perched himself on the table to her right and finally broke the ice.

"Listen, Kim," he said quietly, "I'll take care of the charges. I don't think they were planning on pushing very hard anyway, so...you'll be free to go home."

"Thanks", she nodded, seemingly gripping her arms even tighter and catching his eye.

"You okay?" he asked cautiously, watching her eyes finally rise to his with a blank but nervous sheen. It then dawned on him that this was her first time back at CTU since Teri had died, something he should have realized long before now.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm okay. Just...tired."

"Yeah, well," he chuckled lightly, "unfortunately, I can relate to you there." He then paused and pulled his cell phone from his pocket and opened it, dialing a number that he could still punch in without looking. "Let's get this over with so we can both go home."

Her eyes shot up as he pressed the phone to his ear. "Who are you calling?"

"Your father," he answered as the line began to ring.

"You can't call my father," she suddenly announced urgently, eyes widened and determined.

"What? Why not?"

"Because," she said as she sprung forward out of her chair and took the phone out of his hand to close it herself, "you can't."

"Kim..."

"Do you have any idea what he's going through right now?" she asked coldly, setting the phone down on the table with a thud. "This is the last thing he needs to know about. Please, Tony, for him, just...just don't tell him."

He wanted to argue, but he knew he couldn't, and frankly, it was a relief to consider the possibility of not having to call him after all. "Alright," he finally conceded with a nod after a long pause.

Visibly relieved, Kim dropped her shoulders and turned, wandering across the room and silently staring through the walls to the outside floor. Tony knew he should get off the table and call the appropriate department to order a car to take her home, but watching her stand there, alone and trying so hard to hold herself together and mask the misery that nobody could blame her for, left him with an odd sense of obligation tugging at his conscience. People had a habit of doing the bare minimum and then casting her off on somebody else to deal with, maybe including himself in the past, and he didn't want to be another continuation the cycle. Bringing his feet to the floor, he cleared his throat to get her attention and, without really knowing why, made an offer that seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Look, um...I'm on my way out of here, too, so if you can wait here for ten minutes while I finish up, I can take you home myself."

She paused, searching his eyes to make sure he was serious, before nodding and pursing her lips into a tight smile. "Okay."

"Okay," he repeated, turning to leave before stopping himself and, shooting Kim a pointed look, took his jacket off and stepped forward to drape it around her shoulders.

"It's like 75 degrees outside," she protested as he buttoned it up to cover the skin exposed by her top.

"I don't care if it's 100 degrees outside," he replied. "You're wearing it."

Kim rolled her eyes and secretly thanked God, feigning annoyance as he picked up his cell phone from the table and shoved it back in his pocket before promising to be back in ten minutes. The door swung shut behind him and she released a heavy sigh, hoping he'd take his time. The only place she wanted to be less than CTU tonight was home.

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"

_What next_, Kim muttered under her breath as she opened the passenger door and stepped out of the SUV to see how Tony was faring underneath the smoke-billowing hood. There had been some frightening clanking sound heard before the whole vehicle came to an abrupt stop, leaving just enough time to pull over to the side of the highway before it seemingly gasped its last breath.

Tony looked up from the hopeless maze of machinery in front of him to find Kim hovering nearby, checking up on his progress. "So, are we stuck?"

He straightened and closed the hood with a loud thud, sighing, "Well, we're not getting anywhere in this car. I should be more surprised. Car's just a couple of months old.."

"Sorry," she half-smiled, turning her eyes to the traffic passing by in the lanes next to them. It was starting to get chilly, and her faint buzz was lingering and turning into a headache - suddenly home didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"No, look, I'm sorry," he replied, rolling back his sleeve to check the time on his watch. "You should have been home a long time ago. Come to think of it," he sighed, "so should I."

"So what do we do?" she asked, watching as he glanced across the road and paused before giving his answer.

"Listen," he began quietly, almost cautiously, "my apartment isn't two blocks from here. It wouldn't take long to walk to, and I could call you a cab as soon as we got there."

Kim let her eyes fall to the ground as she felt an odd nervousness start to take root in her gut, for reasons she wasn't sure of. Casting it off, she finally nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Alright," he nodded, turning to close the open doors of the truck. Then they were off on their way, walking side by side as cars swooshed past and the air grew steadily colder. Silence hung lazily in the air, broken only when halfway to their destination, a drop of water on his head caught Tony's attention.

"The hell...?" he muttered, coming to a stop and looking up at the darkened sky above them before another drop fell, followed by another.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kim wearily added as the sprinkles turned into a steady stream. The steady stream didn't waste time turning into a fairly heavy shower, and with a mild squeal, she pulled his jacket over her head and broke into a sprint. Quickly catching up with her, Tony looked over and couldn't help but ask, "How is that even possible to do in those shoes?"

"I don't know and right now I really don't care," she replied, half-shouting over the loud crash of the rain against the pavement. "How much farther?"

"Not far," he answered. "We're almost there."

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Soaking wet and shivering, Kim clutched his jacket around her shoulders in futility as they finally found shelter up the staircase and into the hallway that led to Tony's apartment door. She waited as he wrestled with the locks impatiently, trembling from the cold himself before the door opened at last. He held the door and motioned for her to walk in first, both dripping small puddles on to the carpet as they entered the darkened room. He flipped the lights on and closed the door, turning as Kim stood awkwardly still and hugged her arms close as she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. She didn't know whether to be nervous, comfortable, or indifferent, but she was somewhere in between a combination of all three after he muttered something about finding her something dry to change into and disappeared down the main hallway.

She took the opportunity to wander around the mostly blank living room, looking for something to help establish Tony's identity but finding nothing - no pictures, no telltale signs of an odd interest or two, nothing. Not even, she was slightly surprised to learn, any random memorabilia of the baseball team she used to listen to her father mock him mercilessly over.

Eventually she drifted to the room's edge and stood at the tip of the hallway, absently glancing down it and turning before immediately doing a double take. His door was open just a crack, but it was enough for her to catch a glimpse of Tony as he lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. His back was turned to her, somewhat disappointing her as she continued to mindlessly look on, suddenly catching herself and turning away only when he started unbuckling his belt.

After he changed he walked back to his dresser and pulled out the bottom drawer, trying not to cringe at the irony of what he was about to do. Clearing out that particular drawer was something he had intended to do long ago but never did, maybe to avoid having to think about the memories associated with its contents. At least now maybe it could serve a purpose, he sighed to himself as he pulled out a pair of jeans and a T shirt that Nina had left behind months ago. Hoping she wouldn't ask any questions, he closed the drawer and straightened as he turned for the door.

Trying to hide the somewhat guilty grin on her face, Kim cleared her throat as he re-entered the living room bearing the thankfully dry set of clothes. "Here you go," he said as he handed them off to her, turning and walking towards the phone in the adjoined kitchen as she inspected the clothes curiously.

"So you just happened to have women's clothes lying around your apartment?" she asked through slightly narrowed eyes as he picked up the phone and grinned slightly.

"Something like that," he replied, adding as he dialed a cab service, "Bathroom's down the hall."

"Yeah," she half-rolled her eyes, stepping out of the living room and into the hallway as he looked up in time to watch as she left, glad she didn't press further. Then the line picked up and he gave his address, his voice carrying softly into the hallway before Kim shut the bathroom door behind her and leaned against it, hugging the clothes to her chest as she let out a deep breath. It seemed as if the day were finally grinding to a halt and she could at last let her guard down a little, for some reason feeling safe there despite the fact that safety had become more of a joke than a serious concept in recent months.

Grimacing, she reached down and took her shoes off of her aching feet, wincing as she kneaded lightly and looked up to see her reflection in the mirror above the sink standing in front of her. With a deepening scowl she stepped forward and switched the faucet on, taking her blonde hair down and letting it skim her shoulders as she waited for the water to heat up. When it did she cupped her hands underneath it and splashed her face a few times, washing off the layers of makeup she had applied earlier that day, some of it managing to survive the impromptu outdoor shower. After drying off with a towel that sat nearby she started looking around the bathroom for a comb or brush, eventually opening the medicine cabinet and unexpectedly breaking out into a giggle at the amount of hair products lined up inside.

Meanwhile, Tony sighed and hung up the phone in his kitchen, his mind wandering back to Jack and the late hour. He had to be wondering where his daughter was, if not organizing the entire Los Angeles police department to go out and search for her, and nobody would have blamed him, considering what happened the last time she went missing at midnight. Reluctantly but determinedly, he picked the phone back up and started to dial Jack's number, stopping on the sixth digit when Kim reappeared, glancing him a tight smile and looking away before she could notice him suddenly halting and looking her over. It was one thing to see her in Nina's clothes at all. It was another to see her fill them out better than Nina ever did, save for the several inches of extra denim dragging along the floor. She took a seat on the couch and glanced over just in time to see him turn his eyes away.

""Cab will get here in fifteen minutes," he said quickly hanging up the phone and clearing his throat as she nodded silently. "Can I get you anything? Water or something?"

"No, I'm fine," she shook her head, watching as he paused and slowly made his way into the living room. Unknowingly, she shifted as far into her side of the couch as she could as he sat on the other end, pulling his wallet from a back pocket and fishing through it quietly.

"This should be enough to get you home," he muttered, reaching out a handful of money and getting a scowl in return.

"You don't have to do that. I can pay myself," she replied.

"I didn't say you couldn't," he answered, taking her hand and placing the money in her palm and closing her fist around it. "It's the least I can do."

Nodding silently she drew her hand back and shoved the cash into the front pocket of her jeans, her T shirt riding up slightly as she did and revealing an ugly bruise on her right side that immediately caught Tony's attention.

"What's that?" he asked, staring at the mark until she tugged her shirt back down over it.

"It's nothing," she shrugged, trying and failing to ignore his concern.

"Don't tell me it's nothing," he replied firmly. "Where did you get that?"

"Look," she sighed, "it's none of your business, okay? Just leave it alone."

Determined for some reason to get to the bottom of the matter, Tony persisted. "Kim..."

"What?" she suddenly snapped, jolting forward and staring angrily into his eyes. "What do you want me to say? That I'm fine and coping and happy? Because I'm not, and I'm trying my best to learn how to deal with that, okay?"

He watched in slightly stunned silence following her outburst as she rose from the couch and started pacing the floor with her back turned to him. He would have been lying had he claimed a mild outburst wasn't a long time coming - she had seemed so tightly wound all night it was really only a matter of time before she sprung. She came to a standstill in the middle of the room, resting a hand against her forehead, and with only a slight hesitation, Tony rose from the couch and approached her from behind.

"Hey," he called softly, reaching out a hand and laying it across her shoulder. Thinking she would flinch at the touch, he was surprised when she didn't. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know," she sighed, turning to face him. "I just...it's been really hard, and I get tired of people telling me how to live and how to deal with it."

"I wasn't," he replied. "But if somebody roughed you up, then-"

"Then what?" she interrupted. "Listen, I know you're only doing all of this because of my dad. You don't have to act like you're all concerned. I'll be out of your way soon enough." With that she stepped forward, only to be stopped by his hand, lightly taking her arm.

"That's not true, Kim, listen to me," he said, drawing his hand away. "I was there. I know what you went through, and I wouldn't blame you for a single thing you've done since then. And I do care, Kim, I do."

She fell silent and cast her eyes to the floor, unable to keep the emotion stored in the back of her mind from spilling forward. Fighting tears stinging behind her eyes, she muttered, "I just thought it would have gotten easier by now, and it hasn't. It keeps getting harder."

A look of sympathy crossed Tony's face as he stepped forward, bringing her into his arms with a whispered "Come here.". She seemed reluctant at first but she settled into his embrace, wrapping her arms loosely behind his back and closing her eyes as warmth spread from his touch to hers. He was saying something but all she heard were muffled words in her ear as the air around her changed somehow, and soon the warmth turned to a sort of heat, faint as it tingled lightly in her veins. When he pulled away she had to keep herself from pulling him back, dropping her head as he draped an arm over her shoulder and started walking her back to the couch.

...I don't know how much help I can be, if at all, but I want you to know that I'm here if you ever need anything. Even if it's just to bail you out of whatever trouble you get yourself into next," he smiled, watching as she nodded gratefully and allowed a small smile in return. That was when, out of instinct or maybe lingering sympathy, he leaned in to drop a kiss on her temple. And that was when Kim, seeing him coming from the corners of her cast-down eyes, turned quickly and lifted her head at the last minute, catching his lips with hers in a kiss that was neither accidental nor chaste, nor fleeting. as it lasted just one moment too long.

Opening his instinctively closed eyes, Tony pulled away first and froze as he stared at her, the room silent and yet incredibly loud as the moment hung between them and stretched uncomfortably into another. His arm fell from her shoulder slowly, and as panic started to intensify in both of their minds, Tony tore his eyes away from hers and muttered an apology as he stepped away. He was stopped by a hand gently taking his.

He turned and faced her, wordlessly staring and frozen until she suddenly stepped forward and lifted herself by the tips of her toes to meet his height as she all but launched herself at him, taking either sides of his face in her hands as she pulled his lips back to hers. His hands rose from his sides but didn't touch her, lingering midair as his mind screamed to push her off but the rest of him stayed still, mindlessly pressing his lips back. Encouraged by this, she parted her lips and tried to nudge his apart with her tongue, suddenly snapping him out of his daze as he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. "Dammit, Kim, stop it," he grumbled, frustrated by the utterly innocent look on her face.

"Why?"

"You need to ask?" he answered incredulously. "Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"I _am_ eighteen, you know," she protested, guessing that was the reason on the top of his list.

"For what, four or five hours?" he replied, pausing before adding the real reason why it was a bad idea. "Kim, if your father knew..."

"I won't tell him if you won't," she replied. "So he won't know."

He sighed as a moment of silence followed, stepping back as she took a step forward and feeling his frustration come to head. Finally he stopped avoiding her and held his ground, glaring silently at her when she rested her hands on his shoulders and came closer. Then she started pushing him back towards the couch. "Kim," he protested in futility, unwilling to push her away again and going along with it until the backs of his legs hit the couch and she pushed him down. His pulse spiking, she lowered herself to him and straddled his waist, all without a word and with only the look of pure certainty in her eye.

Before he knew it he was flat on his back with her draped over him. She pressed her lips to his and he tried desperately not to kiss her back as her hips flexed closer to his. A groan from him was all the opportunity she needed to slip her tongue between his lips.

His hands landed on the curves of her hips and for one moment he actually thought he would have the strength to push her away. Then, as he tried to pull away, his teeth nipped at her bottom lip and she groaned in a way that rocked through his entire body. Common sense fled and instead of using his hands to push her away he slid on up to tangle in her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss. His other hand slid down to settle on the sweet curve of her heart shaped ass, bringing her hips more solidly against his.

As their kisses grew deeper and longer and her hips began moving over his faster he realized that he had to move them or he was going to take her on the coach. He sat up, even as she tried to keep him down. She kissed him harder, seemingly worried he was about to try and stop her again, so he grabbed her thighs, pulling her legs around his waist and standing up. She squeaked against his mouth as she wrapped her arms around him, dropping kisses along his neck as he steered them towards the bedroom.

He dropped them down onto the bed, laying in the cradle of her hips as they continued kissing. Her legs wound around his waist even more tightly as he perfectly aligned their lower bodies.

Suddenly she gasped, but it wasn't all pleasure and the distinct note of fear made him pull back.

"Kim, did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, "No, its just…." She stopped and glanced down his body, "I didn't…..it feels really big."

He froze for a moment and pushed himself up on his knees, although her legs were still around him, "Kim….you….you have done this before."

"What? Sex," she shrugged, "Yeah, of course." He kept staring at her as her face got redder and redder, "No, not so much."

"Shit, Fuck," he said, cursing as he tried to pull away. Her legs only held on tighter. He could have broken the hold, but he might hurt her if he did and he wasn't willing to risk that. Instead he tried to calm down and be reasonable…..or, well at least be reasonable.

"Kim, we….I didn't know this was your first time. We can't do this. Now, let's just get up and I'll call you a cab. No, better yet, you stay here and get some sleep and I'll…."

Whatever he was going to say next was lost as Kim grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. All thoughts of stopping and doing the right thing were driven out by the best pair of tits he'd ever had the fortune of seeing. If he hadn't felt them pressed against his own chest he might not believe they were hers. They were the perfect size, just slightly bigger than his hand could hold. Her nipples were pale pink and hard, aroused and anxious for the touch of his hands and tongue.

She arched her back and he groaned leaning towards her breasts before forcing himself to stop. He looked up at her, waiting until she met her eyes, "You sure about this, Kim? You can't undo it in the morning."

"I'm sure Tony. I want this. I want you."

Giving up his last resistance he kissed her again. She kissed him back, eagerly wrapping her arms around him, thrusting her hips towards his again and trying to press her breasts against his chest. He grabbed her arms and pushed her back.

"No," she said, "I want…."

"I know," he said firmly, keeping her hands pinned to the bed, "I know what you want, baby, trust me."

"Then why are you..?" she glanced at his hands holding her arms.

"Cause we got to slow down a bit." She opened her mouth as if to argue and he silenced her with a quick, hard kiss, "Just let me take the lead Kim." He let go of one hand to trail a finger down towards her breast, "I promise you'll enjoy where I take you."

She nodded and he let her hands go. She stretched them up over her head, and he smiled at the sight she presented. He ignored her breasts for the moment, however, and went back to kissing her. Instead of the fast, hard kisses she'd given him before he went slow, languorously tasting her until she was squirming against him, desperate for more.

He pulled away slightly, moving back to his knees. With one finger he traced her breast, around and around until he finally reached her nipple. He tugged slightly at it, only enough to elicit a quick gasp before he circled away again. He repeated the motion over and over, each time tugging more firmly at her nipple, each time hearing her gasps get louder as she squirmed against him.

Finally, when her eyes were fluttering closed in pleasure he swirled his tongue around one nipple, continuing to manipulate the other with his fingers. He repeated the motion on the other nipple, moving back and forth each time adding more pressure, and then finally tugging with his teeth. Her hands fisted in his hair then, as he sucked and nipped at her breast. He had to fight her to repeat the motion on the other one and she groaned widely as he sent constant bolts of heat spiraling through her.

He moved to kiss her again as his hand drifted away from her breasts and down her body. He stopped to caress her stomach, causing her to giggle before he slipped his hand down to unzip her jeans. He edged them down her legs just enough to discover her naked flesh underneath. She spread her legs to accommodate him as his fingers brushed over her. He pulled away from their kiss and stared at her as his fingers traced her slit. She wet already and he knew it wouldn't be hard for him to slide his fingers inside of her. Truthfully he was desperate to know what she felt like so he kissed her again to get her attention.

Staring into her eyes he asked, "You okay with this, Kim?"

She nodded, but her hand reached up to clutch his arm as his fingers barely slid inside of her.

"S'okay, baby," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek as he slid his finger further inside of her.

The hot, wet, tight clutch of her around him forced him to close his eyes and grind his teeth. He struggled for control as he imagined how tight she'd be around his cock.

Kim gasped as his thumb flicked over her clit. He pulled back to watch her face as he drove her closer and closer to orgasm. Part of him wanted to taste her, to get rid of her pants and slide his tongue deep inside of her. But the other part of him knew it would be too much of a temptation for him….and probably more than she can handle her first time. So instead he concentrated on making her feel good, on giving her an orgasm that would leave her limp, relaxed and ready for him to make love to her.

He watched her face as she came, enjoying the rush of pleasure that came to her eyes. He smiled as her arms and legs collapsed against the bed, her body quivering with the aftershocks of her orgasm. She was replete and almost goddess like with her hair strew around her gorgeous face.

As she relaxed back against the pillows he slid her pants off of her gently. Then he stood and quickly lost his own clothes, grabbing a condom from his night stand before returning to the bed.

Kim's eyes flew open as she felt Tony press against her. They widened as she took in the sheer size of him.

"It's okay," he promised as he saw the streak of fear in her eyes, "We'll go slow."

"Is that…..going to fit?" she asked with earnest disbelief.

He chuckled and nodded, "It will." He groaned then as he remembered how tight she had been around his fingers, "It might kill me, but it'll definitely fit."

"Will it…." She made a face, "Hurt?"

He reached up and brushed his fingers over her face, "Yeah, at first, but I'll go as slow as you need and wait as long as you need. And I promise," he leaned down and kissed her, "Once the hurt fades away I'll make you feel so good Kim."

She nodded, relaxing back against the pillows as he moved between her legs. He hooked his arms under her knees and positioned himself at her entrance, "You ready?"

She nodded furiously and closed her eyes.

He pushed inside her slowly, leaning down to kiss her as she wiggled under him. He felt her body's resistance to him and her eyes popped open as she felt the pressure build.

"Tony," she whimpered. He leaned down and kissed her then moved his mouth over to her shoulder and bit her just before he thrust all the way inside of her.

She yelled out, and then went completely still, whimpering softly at the pain.

"Shhhh," he whispered in her ear, "Just try and relax, baby, it'll fade, I promise, shh."

She seemed to understand him as her cries quieted. For a long time he lay above her, arms straining, body desperate to move. He forced himself to stay still and not rush her.

That went out the window when she gave a hesitant thrust up with her hips.

"Geeziz, Kim, don't do that if you aren't ready."

"I'm ready," she said, wiggling again, "It doesn't hurt as much. Kind of feels good," she thrust up again.

He growled against her, grabbing her hips to keep her still. He slid almost all the way out of her and then thrust back in. She gasped and he let out a long groan of pleasure, "You're so tight….so good….so…" he whispered nonsense as he moved inside of her, setting a rhythm that he was surprised to find she could match quickly.

His hand drifted down to play with her clit as he moved faster inside of her. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last and he leaned down to kiss her before dragging his lips down to play with her breasts, desperate to make her come with him.

Her body arched as she came, her muscles tightening around him until, with a long groan, he came with her. Riding the waves until the last one had faded, he collapsed helplessly on top of her, panting until he realized he was squeezing the air from her lungs and rolled over beside her. Kim opened her closed eyes and stared into the ceiling, rational thought still a distant memory as she tried to catch her breath, and only a short moment passed before she was being pulled into Tony's arms.

Kim shivered slightly as he held her, leading him to untangle the mess of sheets strewn about the bed and cover them, shifting so that he could look into her eyes as they lay together. Brushing a piece of hair behind her ear, he asked quietly, "You alright?"

She smiled and answered, "Yeah. I am."

He dropped a kiss on her forehead and settled her into the crook of his neck, one arm holding her while the other hand stroked through her hair. Exhausted but doubtful if sleep would come easily, he stared as the digital clock on the nightstand ticked its way into the early hours of the morning. The morning would bring reality, and its consequences, but for now, he kept his mind from wandering there until it had to. Her breaths were growing steady and rhythmic against his chest as she began to drift off, lulling him into finally closing his eyes as well.

Soon they were both asleep, far away from the world that promised to greet them with the harsh light of morning. It might feel like a mistake then. But for that short time, it was the right thing at the right time, never mind how wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

The harsh glare of the morning sun forced her eyes open as Kim slowly awoke from her deep, dreamless sleep. She groaned lightly and rolled from her stomach to her back, trying to remember what day it was when the blur left her eyes and gave way to clarity, dawning on her the realization that she was not lying in her bed and not sleeping in her bedroom. Quickly she sat up and felt a rush of cold air on her skin as the sheets fell from her shoulders, her eyes widening further as she pulled the sheets back up over her startlingly bare chest. She looked over on the opposite side of the bed and saw her clothes sitting there, folded and waiting for her to put them on. Then she heard a clanking noise come from outside of the bedroom, which was when she realized that the air smelled of...bacon and eggs.

Her head hurt, but she couldn't tell if it was from the coma she'd just awoken from or if it was a slight hangover. Either way, her mind was clouded and confused until suddenly, seemingly triggered by nothing, all of the memories made the night before came rushing back to her in one dizzyingly heart-stopping moment.

She quickly scurried out from under the covers and threw the clothes on, a slight panic taking hold as she realized what she had done and what she had to do now. She remembered pushing him down on his own couch, remembered how she'd kept pushing until she'd gotten everything she wanted and more - it had all happened so fast, on such a blinding and unexpected wave of passion, that she hadn't even thought about what the next day might be like. Now that it was here, she couldn't help but worry that it had all been one hideous mistake that she'd live to regret...eventually, anyway.

After smoothing herself overt in the bathroom she ventured out into the hallway, her footsteps nearly silent as she neared its end as peered out into the living room and its tiny adjoined kitchen. She then leaned against the wall with a helpless smile crossing her face as she took in the sight of Tony, dressed for work, dumping a panful of burnt eggs into the trash can.

She half-wanted to stay like that, just watching from her safe distance, but soon enough he glanced behind him and noticed her standing there, a sheepish smile greeting him as their eyes met. He took a breath and called in a cautiously light tone, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied, a little bit eased that the awkwardness didn't seem to be as bad as she feared it would be. She walked herself to the small table he'd sat two glasses on, one filled with water, the other with orange juice.

He cracked two more eggs over the heated skillet and turned back to her, eyeing her silently for a short moment before asking quietly, "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled nervously, keeping her gaze on the the faint puffs of steam rising from the stovetop to avoid his eyes. When he had turned his attention back to the cooking eggs she muttered, "You don't have to do this. I mean, I can get something to eat on my home, it's not-"

"I want to," he interrupted, turning back to her and holding her gaze for a minute before adding, "It's the least I can do. Or try to do, anyway."

She smiled and nodded as he glanced back at the eggs, his expression quickly hardening as he muttered a "Dammit" and quickly moved the skillet off of the heat, having just wasted his third pair of eggs. She snickered as he leaned his palms on the stove, sighing before picking up a plate with three strips of bacon and taking it to her. "Well, looks like this'll have to do. Sorry about that."

"Please, it's fine," she replied, lifting the glass of orange juice to her lips before the faint ring of her cell phone entered her ears. They both froze and turned to the living room where it was coming from, a brief moment passing before she rose and hurried to retrieve the phone from her purse, which had been carelessly dumped beside a chair on the floor the night before.

Tony watched as she fumbled with the purse's contents before finally pulling out her phone, pausing to check the caller ID. She clicked on the phone and glanced nervously at Tony before plastering a smile on her face and chirping, "Hi, Daddy!"

Tony looked away and tried to busy himself with cleaning the mess in his kitchen, though he listened in carefully as he tried to calm the racing guilt-tipped thoughts in his head.

"I'm at a friend's house..._yes_, I'm okay. I know, and I'm sorry, I just...what? No, I must have turned the ringer off or something. I'm sorry, Dad, I really am, but I'm on my way home, okay?" She paused and closed her eyes before muttering,"I love you too. I'm sorry."

Tony watched as she slowly slid the phone from her ear and clicked it off, her eyes reluctantly meeting his as their silence spoke volumes. Kim saw the look in his eye and spoke before he had a chance to himself. "I should get going."

He nodded and watched as she started gathering her things before he begab to speak. "Don't worry about catching a cab or anything. I'll drive you home."

She paused, a look of confusion on her faxw. "But your car..."

"Yeah, I know," he smiled slightly. "I called a CTU car here. It's waiting outside."

"Oh," she muttered. "Okay. Thanks."

She watched as Tony grabbed his jacket and flipped the lights off, following him as he walked to the front door. He stood to he side and opened the door as he motioned for her to go first, though as she did she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

"Kim," he sighed as they stood parallel to one another, "I'm sorry...about last night. I shouldn't ha-"

"Tony," she interrupted, shaking her head, "Please, don't."

He paused and searched her eyes, using all of his willpower to keep his hand from reaching out and brushing against her face and the soft hair that had fallen messily into it. "You know it can't happen again."

She wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement. Either way, she nodded and turned her eyes forward. "Yeah."

He waited for a minute, trying to think of something else to say, something that would somehow "fix" everything but falling fall short. Instead he opened rhe door and watched her walk out of it, taking one last look around the apartment before following her.

-------------------------------------------

_Two months later_

Kim chewed anxiously on her fingernail as she waited on hold, trying desperately hard not to freak out and hang up but finding the idea more than tempting. It was a miracle that she found the courage to call at all - but this kind of waiting was unbearable. Absently, she picked up the small empty box that had somehow wound up on the floor near her bed and turned it over, making sure for the thousandth time that she'd followed the directions correctly. Then she set the box aside and picked up the offending test, staring blankly at the tiny blue strip that had appeared, she guessed, 20 minutes earlier, though the shock hadn't worn off one bit. Her eyes glazed with the thoughts running aimlessly through her head, though they suddenly fled when she heard the clicking of the other line and a familiar voice in her ear. "Kim? I'm sorry I didn't get to you right away - they just now told me you were on hold."

""It's okay," she quickly answered, closing her eyes and clearing her throat. "I know you're busy."

She heard a pause before Tony spoke again, cautious in his tone. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm fine, I just..." she paused and swallowed hard, "I need to talk to you...about something."

The fear in her voice was clear, and Tony could feel himself tense with worry with every minute that passed. This couldn't be good. "What's the matter, Kim?"

She sighed and gave up, having foolishly believed she could do this over the phone. "I...I need to tell you something, but not like this. I'd rather it be in person. If you can."

"Yeah, yeah, I can," he replied, leaning back and checking the clock on the wall. "Tell you what, I get off for lunch in an hour. I could meet you somewhere, or..."

"Um," she replied quietly, "could you pick me up? My dad has the car, and..."

"Okay. He's not home with you?"

"No, he left without saying where he was going awhile ago," she answered, the mere thought of her father almost sending her into a fit of tears.

"Alright," he sighed after a short silence. "I'll be there soon. You sure you're okay?"

_No_, she thought to herself. "Yeah. I'll see you soon."

----------------------------------------------------

Kim glanced over and deepened her frown at the sight of Tony's hand as it gripped the steering wheel seemingly for dear life. He had barely said a word since he'd picked her up, and she had said little more. He would glance over every few moments and eye her worriedly, trying to read her and figure out what the hell was so important that she'd call him at work out of the blue after two months of purposely avoiding him, but he was at a loss. The thought of having lunch like this seemed preposterous - besides, he'd lost his appetite the moment he'd heard the suppressed panic in her voice when he'd first picked up his phone.

Her eyes narrowed in confusion as he took a detour that she knew only led to one place, the beach - but why would he be taking her there? She didn't ask, staying silent until he had pulled into the beach's almost completely empty public parking area and turned off the engine.

"Tony, what are you...?"

"Listen," he began, finally connecting with her eyes, "you didn't call me at CTU out of nowhere after two months to have lunch. Now tell me what this is about. Tell me what's going on."

Kim sighed and closed her eyes briefly, telling herself to just blurt it out and get it over with. But when she opened her eyes and looked into his, her memory flashed in her mind and made it nearly impossible to focus on the mission at hand. The last two months had been long ones, and she figured she'd never see him again, nor that she'd have a reason to. She hadn't exactly forgotten about him or what they had done, but it had been pushed far enough into her subconscious for her to have been completely unprepared for _this_. And if _she_ was in such a state of shock, she wondered, how would _he_ take it?

"Kim?"

He sounded almost impatient now, and her heart started racing in her chest. She looked out of the passenger side window and stared out into the beach without actually looking at anything, though only seconds later she was startled by a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered, pulling back slightly when she jumped at his touch.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I just..."

"...Just what?" he pressed, his nerves pushed to the brink and ready to explode if she didn't spit it out soon.

Kim looked into his eyes and realized that he was closer than he was moments earlier, having cast aside his seatbelt so he could lean over far enough to reach her shoulder when he'd touched her. She held his gaze and weighed her options. Either she could do what she came here to do or she could give in to the screaming inside of her head that was telling her she couldn't, and maybe shouldn't, do it, and that this whole thing had been one giant mistake.

Going with the latter option, she unfastened her own seatbelt and swiftly leaned forward, taking his face in her hands and pressing her lips hard against his. He froze for a moment, her sudden movements having taken him by surprise, not to mention further confusing him, but he kissed her back nonetheless, much to her relief. She quickly scooted off of the passenger seat and tried to squeeze herself in between him and the steering wheel, their lips breaking apart in the process long enough for him to mutter, "Kim, wh-"

"Shut up," she half-pleaded before silencing him with another kiss, all the while fumbling clumsily around the seat until she found the handle she was looking for. She tugged on it and the seat fell back, leaving her on top of him as she tightened her hips around his and started moving slowly against them. He groaned into her mouth and pulled her hips closer still, his body's reaction almost immediate as obvious as the smile he felt form against his lips.

Tony's one hand rested on the curve of her hip while the other rose to tangle in her hair, the scene familiar to him and yet different somehow, not that he had time to analyze with her pressing harder and harder against him, driving away her own rationality along with his. He pulled her head back by her hair and broke away to run his lips along her neck, nipping lightly and straining underneath her, his obvious and growing desire somehow sending a sudden burst of courage through her veins.

Kim felt him still slightly as she hastily unfastened his belt, opening her eyes and looking into his as their breaths huffed in the short distance between their faces. Without any hesitation that he could see, she slid her hand over his chest and and down his stomach, stopping only as it finally brushed over his erection and forced his mouth open. "Kim, you don-"

"Shh," she hushed, tightening her hand around him into a fist. "Let me try."

His head rolled back against the seat when her hand started moving slowly, a long exhalation hissing out of his throat as she watched him carefully, trying to read his reactions. He pulled her back for another kiss with one hand while his other reached down to cover hers, tightening her fingers just slightly and moving them at the pace he wanted, letting go when she had it down perfectly and had extracted another low groan from his lips. She was so transfixed by the effect she was having, as was he, that she didn't see the shadow outside of the driver's side window until it was too late.

Suddenly the entire car jerked to the side. They opened their eyes and snapped their heads up as it jerked again, this time seeing the culprit. Kim screamed and stumbled off of Tony's lap as the locked driver's side door finally broke open and an incoherently growling Jack Bauer yanked Tony out of the car by his throat in one swift moveement.

"Dad, no!" Kim squealed near the top of her lungs as she watched her father slam Tony against the car, his hand clamped tightly around his neck and squeezing hard as actual words started to come thundering out of his mouth.

"You son a bitch!" Jack bellowed. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"Jack..." Tony rasped, trying desperately to loosen the other man's grip on this throat.

"It wasn't enough that your traitorous girlfriend took my wife from me. Now you have the audacity to be sitting at a public beach with my daughter's hand down your pants!" His grip tightened, and his voice lowered dangerously. "I thought I could trust you Almeida," he growled, not caring that Tony's face was by this time a deep purple. "Is this how you get women now? You prey on innocent little girls who just lost their mother? Are you that desperate Tony?"

"Dad!" Kim pleaded once more, tears stinging her eyes as her panic grew more with each second that passed.

Jack shot her a look from the corner of his eye and barked, "Kim, stay away. Stay out of this."

"Dad, I can't," she choked, the tears escaping her eyes.

"Dammit, Kim, I mean it," Jack snapped, desperate for her to leave so she didn't watch him slowly kill his former co-worker.

"Dad," she cried, her voice a shaky sadow of itself as she forced herself to do the only thing she could think of to stop what was happening. "Dad...I'm pregnant."

She closed her eyes and turned around to keep from seeing the look on her father's face, sobbing into her hands as Jack watched in pure shock, his mouth open slightly as his grip on Tony's throat slowly loosened. Jack stood frozen as Tony broke away, coughing and gasping for air as his own shock made his breath all the harder to catch. Kim finally turned around to see Jack staring at her, unabashed fear etched on his face, and then Tony, leaning his palms above his knees as he looked up at her with utter pain and fear clouding his eyes. She looked from one to the other over and over again until finally it was all too much and she ran, running as far and as fast as she could, leaving the two men alone in their shock and their confusion as a simple mistake threatened to turn into much, much more.


	3. Chapter 3

The shock had subsided a bit, and Tony's brain was starting to come back online as he processed the information and what it meant, what the consequences were, and how there was truly no turning back anymore. Jack appeared to be doing the same, both still standing idly after Kim had fallen out of sight. Tony wasn't sure what to do or why Jack hadn't gone after her yet. Things still seemed to be moving in slow motion, including his own feet when he stepped forward, stepping past Jack and intending to go find Kim himself.

Suddenly Jack grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled Tony back, again tossing him against the car. "You," Jack seethed as he outstretched a finger, "are going to get in your car and leave, do you understand me? You're going to leave my daughter alone. I don't want to hear from you again."

Parts of his back stung from where it had hit the car, and suddenly Tony was angry. "Listen," he said through gritted teeth, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Jack. I really am. But it is what it is, and I'm not going anywhere." He paused, searching Jack's eyes. "Not after this."

"You listen to me," Jack growled, stepping forward and coming in menacingly close.

"No, Jack, you listen to me," Tony countered, meeting him head-on and looking him square in the eye. "This isn't about you or me anymore or how much you might hate me now. What's done is done, and we both have to learn to live with it."

"You're going to tell me what I 'have to live with' after what you've done to my daughter? No," Jack shook his head, "I'm not letting you anywhere near my daughter. We'll handle this. You're not going to be a part of it."

Jack had mustered his self control and was turning to walk away when Tony muttered, "She's not a child, Jack. Shes an adult. It's her decision to make, not yours."

Jack turned on his heel and charged at the other man, again shoving him against the car and taking him into a chokehold, albeit less deadly than the last time. "She's a kid!" he exclaimed, his words punctuated by the slam of Tony's body against the car. "She turned 18 two months ago! You really think she knew what the hell she was doing? She's a kid, Tony, a kid!"

This time, sick of getting shoved around, Tony pushed back hard, succeeding only in making Jack retaliate harder and tighten his grip around his throat. They struggled until they both stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of Kim's quiet voice pleading, "Please, stop it, both of you..."

Jack let go of Tony once more and rushed to his daughter's side, taking her into his arms as he whispered, "Kim, sweetheart, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

Eyes narrowing, she pulled back and searched his eyes with her tear-soaked ones as she asked, "What? Why are you sorry?"

"This is all my fault. I've been so distant since your mom died, I just..."

"Dad," she interrupted, pulling him back into their hug, "please, you had nothing to do with any of this. It was my mistake." She opened her closed eyes and looked over Jack's shoulder to Tony, locking sad eyes with him in the distance between them.

"Listen," Jack said as he pulled away, "we're going to figure this out, okay? Everything's going to work out, I promise."

"...So you're not mad at me?"

"No," he shook his head. "Not at you, sweetheart."

She paused, glancing over at Tony before muttering, "Dad, please don't take it out on him, he just -"

"Kim, listen to me," Jack said, his face hardening, "he's not going to be a part of this."

"Dad, he's the fa -"

"Kim," he repeated, "trust me honey, okay?"

She was so tired of fighting that she was willing to let it go for now. "Fine."

Jack nodded. "Alright. Wait here," he muttered, turning and heading in Tony's direction. She crossed her arms and watched nervously as the two men once again exchanged tense words.

"I'm taking my daughter home now. I don't want to see you or hear from you after today, do you understand me?" Jack asked tersely.

"Yeah, okay, but what if _she_ does?" Tony asked, suppressing a roll of his eyes.

"Like I said before," Jack replied, "she's a kid. She doesn't know what she wants.

Biting back more than a few comments that would have gotten him pummeled into the ground, Tony paused and, like Kim, found himself too tired to fight anymore. "Yeah, alright."

"I'm serious, Tony."

"And I said alright," Tony countered, turning and opening the driver's side door of his car. Jack glared at him until he'd shut the door and turned on the ignition, turning and walking back to Kim as the car sped away. When it was out of sight Jack draped his arm over Kim's shoulders and pulled her close,closing his eyes as he dropped a kiss to her temple and vowed silently to never let her go again.

--------------------------------------------------------

Tony was lifting the half-empty bottle to his lips when his cell phone rang in his pocket, garnering a sideways glance from the bartender as he fished it the phone out and answered it. "Yeah."

"Hey. Where are you?"

He paused and set down the bottle, freeing his hand to lean his face into it as he muttered, "You shouldn't be calling me, Kim."

"Why not?"

He almost laughed, rubbing his eyes and wearing a sarcastic half-smirk as he replied, "I don't know, why don't you ask your father? He seems to be in the talking kind of mood."

"I've already talked to him. I haven't talked to you."

"Yeah, well," he sighed, "maybe it's best if you don't."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, taking a swig of the beer and drinking it down with a side of self-pity as Kim rolled her eyes on the other end.

"Tony, if this is about my dad, I know he can be scary, but..."

"But what, Kim? What? You think he's ever going to let me anywhere near you or the .." he paused, the words still seeming unreal, "the baby?"

"...Like I was saying," she replied, "I know he can be scary, but it's not up to him."

"Yeah, okay. Try telling him that."

She paused, shaking her head slightly before answering, "It might work out better if you _showed _him instead. I just made a doctor's appointment for this Friday, and I want you there with me. I want...I _need _you around, Tony."

He fell silent, staring down at the bar for a moment before reaching for his wallet. He threw a handful of crumpled money down in front of the bartender and rose from the stool he'd been perched on for half an hour, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door. "I want to be there, Kim, I do."

"Then _be _there," she urged softly, almost pleading.

He sighed, pausing before pushing the front door open and heading out into the parking lot, keys in hand. "How did he even find us there?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was so random...he had been on his way home and he parked half a mile from the beach and decided to go for a run. I guess he was passing by and caught a glimpse, I don't know."

Tony got inside of his car and slammed the door shut, muttering, "He broke the lock on my car door. I'm lucky he didn't tear the entire thing off."

"You think maybe we'll laugh about this someday?" she asked, hope and hopelessness equal in her voice.

He paused, turning on the ignition and checking his rearview mirror before putting the car into gear and pulling out. "No. I don't."

-----------------------------------------------------------

_One week later_

Her head would snap up every time the waiting room door would open, though each time she was disappointed when he didn't come walking through it. She hadn't heard from him since she asked him here, and not because she hadn't called - she had, but he hadn't answered. She couldn't even get through to his office anymore, leading her to fear, and even assume, that she'd heard the last of him. It felt stupid to be surprised by the idea of Jack scaring him away for good, but she'd figured Tony one for responsibility, as well as courage enough to face her father, however scary he might be or how many threats he might issue. Then again, he wouldn't have been the first whose character she misjudged.

She glanced at Jack sitting next to her, clearly as nervous and uncomfortable as she was, and gave him the tiniest of smiles before letting her eyes drift around the room. She saw a couple in their late twenties, probably married, and watched as the man rubbed his wife's swollen belly, a look of pure pride in his eyes. To their left sat a girl who Kim thought might be younger than she was, sitting alone with her head down and eyes cast to the floor. Beside her was a woman in her late thirties, clad in a power suit and checking her overly expensive watch for the fifth time in as many minutes.

It was times like these she wanted her mother more than anyone in the world. Jack, God bless him, he was trying - but he didn't know what he was doing. Tony, as far as she knew, had split. She was afraid to confide in anybody else, so she didn't. But Teri would have understood, she thought to herself. She would have had all the right things to say, all the natural, warm comfort of a loving mother. Now that she thought about it, Kim realized that her mother's own child would have been nearing its arrival date soon if only...

The door opening shook her out of her thoughts, but she didn't look up this time, unwilling to be disappointed again. Then she heard Jack mutter "What the..._hell_?" and snapped her head up just in time to watch Tony walk through the door.

Kim hurried to her feet after Jack sprung from the chair, holding him back and positioning herself between him and Tony as he growled, "What the hell are you doing here?! I thought I told you to stay away from my daughter,.you son of a..."

"Dad, stop it," Kim whispered, her eyes darting around the room and taking in the suddenly scared looks on the other patients' faces. "I asked him here, okay?"

"What?" Jack snapped, turning to her. "Kim, why -"

Tony was about to open his own mouth when a voice interrupted the mini-confrontation. "Kim Bauer?"

Kim turned around. "Yeah?"

"The doctor's ready for you now."

She nodded and slowly turned back to the two men, sighing before shaking her head and muttering, "Don't kill each other, okay?"

They watched until the door closed behind her, neither knowing what to do with themselves once she was gone. Cautiously, Tony glanced at Jack and muttered, "Hey, Jack."

Jack slowly turned his head and glared at the other man, a long moment passing before he growled, "Shut up." He then turned and sunk back into his chair, ignoring the stares he was garnering and opting to fester silently in his rage. He was so consumed that he didn't notice when Tony disappeared from the room, realizing that he'd left only when he returned seconds later and stuck a Styrofoam cup filled with coffee in his face.

Jack looked up and stared at him before reluctantly taking the cup, recognizing it as the peace offering that it was as Tony took a seat beside his.

"You know, Jack," Tony sighed, "I was going to do what you said. I was going to leave her alone, leave everything alone. I figured she was better off without me anyway, but..."

Jack looked up at him as his voice trailed off. "But what?"

"...But I'm not, Jack. I'm not going away." He looked Jack square in the eye. "As long as she wants me here, I'm not going anywhere. I know you want to protect her, Jack, but you've got to accept the fact that some things aren't up to you anymore. I'm sorry about all of this. Trust me, I am. But this is a baby we're talking about. You have to accept that I'm it's father and you can't just shove me around and expect to get rid of me. You won't."

Jack stared forward, his face softening as the faintest of shimmers reached the corners of his eyes. "She's all I have left, Tony," he murmured quietly. "You don't understand."

"Maybe I do understand."

"No, Tony, you don't," he snapped. "I lost everything. I lost my wife, I lost my job, I lost everything but her. Everything. And you? You get promoted and go on with your life. I'm glad that you came out unscathed, Tony, but we didn't. She didn't. And for you to take advantage of her the way you did..."

"Jack, I didn't ta -"

"Yes you did," Jack interrupted. "You did. And it's inexcusable."

"Fine, it's inexcusable," Tony muttered, "but that doesn't change what happened."

They looked up to the door as the doctor walked through it, her head buried in a chart as she disappeared behind the nurse's desk. Tony set his own cup of coffee down and stood from the chair. "I'm going to go in and talk to her, alright?"

Jack opened his mouth to protest but Tony cut him off. "Jack, please."

When Jack didn't lunge out his chair and tackle him, Tony took a breath and started walking toward the exam room that Kim sat in. He didn't turn in time to see the look of utter powerlessness on Jack's face.

Kim was staring at the blank walls of the exam room, feeling smaller than she had in a long time, when the doorknob twisting caught her eye and the door slowly pushed open afterwards. She couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips when Tony was the one who stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"Hey," he called softly as he approached the exam table she sat on, trying not to freak out himself.

"Hey," she smiled back, pausing a moment before adding, "My dad let you come in here?"

"It's not really up to him, Kim," Tony replied as he stood in front of her. He reached out a hand to her shoulder and asked quietly, "You alright?"

She looked down and nodded. "I'm fine, just...still getting used to everything."

"I know," he murmured, pulling her close into his arms. "It's going to be okay, Kim, I promise. I'll make sure of it."

She sunk contentedly into his embrace, enjoying his warmth and the blankness of mind it provided before forcing herself to pull away. "I...I figured you'd changed your mind. I mean, I haven't heard from you, and you never answer your phone..."

"I'm sorry," he replied as he perched beside her, taking one of her hands in his. "I've been thinking a lot. Kind of disappeared for a few days, but...I'm here now."

She smiled and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes as his fingers stroked through her hair. She sighed when he gently lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, a short moment passing before he leaned in and kissed her lips softly.

Outside Jack had taken to pacing, half-trying to be reasonable and give them their space, half wanting to storm inside the room just to make a point, if nothing else. He didn't know what to do, how to process what he'd barely expected, or who was to blame for all of this in the end. He was a mess of thoughts, eventually switching to autopilot and finding himself heading for the exam room door.

They jerked apart when they heard the door open, neither surprised to see Jack standing there in the doorway. He stared for a minute before quickly turning and heading back into the waiting room, feeling simply overwhelmed where he once would have felt rage, snapping out of his daze only when he collided head-on with the doctor and knocked the chart out of her hands.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, dropping down to pick up the scattered papers, as the doctor quietly assured him it was fine. When he rose and handed her the papers she took them from his hands and motioned to the exam room, offering a tight smile as she continued on her way inside. He followed behind her, closing the door when they had entered.

"So, Kim," the doctor said brightly as Jack glared silently at Tony, who had scooted off the table and taken to leaning against a wall, "we ran some tests and..."

"Is everything okay?" Kim asked nervously.

"Everything's normal. In fact, Kim, you're more normal than I expected." The doctor paused before adding, "You're not pregnant."

Three pairs of suddenly wide eyes flew upon the doctor,none of them believing what they had just heard. "What are you talking about?" Kim asked quietly.

"I double checked the results, Kim, and you're not pregnant. Your hormone levels are normal, and the blood test came back negative. Home tests are often just as wrong as they right."

"But...then I'm just...two months late?"

"For a lot of women, that's normal," the doctor replied.

"Not for me," Kim replied, lowering her head into her hands. She only half-heard Jack asking the doctor to give them a few minutes alone, only half-saw Tony's concerned eyes on her, and only half-understood the conflicting emotions building steadily inside. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Jack asked quietly, cautiously rubbing his hand over her back.

"I...I don't know, I...think so." She then looked to Tony, wondering if the seeming confliction on his face mirrored her own. She turned back to her father and didn't know why it hurt to see the look of relief playing freely on his face.

"Oh Kim," he sighed, pulling her into a hug and closing his eyes. "It's alright. It's over."

When he drew back she took a deep breath and asked quietly, "Dad, could you...give us a minute?"

Jack glanced over at Tony and seemed to debate before giving his answer. "Yeah. I'll be right outside, okay honey?"

She nodded as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. He then turned and shot Tony one more pointed look before exiting the room. Once the door closed behind him Kim sighed and rose to her feet, crossing her arms as she wandered across the room. She stopped in front of a wall and looked up at the decorative border than ran across it, observing the drawn images of children, teddy bears, everything she had tried to get used to thinking about for the last week and a half, everything that had scared her to death and yet now left her feeling bereft in its absence. She heard Tony coming up behind her and turned to face him.

"Are you relieved?" she asked, still clutching her arms tightly. "Because I think I'm supposed to be relieved, but I don't think I am."

"Kim, this whole thing has been such a rollercoaster, I..." he shook his head slightly, "I don't know what I feel yet. You don't have to either. Just give it time."

She turned back to the wall, blinking back tears as she muttered, "I guess I started to think that maybe it was a chance to start over, to have a real purpose. Like I was gaining something instead of losing something for once."

"Hey," he whispered, stepping forward and sliding his arms around her waist. "I know how hard this was on you. But you handled it so well, Kim. You're going to move on and learn from this. You'll be stronger for having gone through it."

She leaned back into his embrace, shutting her eyes contentedly at the feel of warm lips in her hair. She tried to soak him in, knowing she might not ever get this close to him again. "Do you regret what we did?"

He paused, shifting so that he nuzzled her ear. "I regret that it caused all of this. I regret that it hurt you, but...I don't regret that it happened."

She turned in his arms and brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders, looking up in his eyes as she asked quietly, "This is it, isn't it?"

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he replied, "You need to live your life, Kim. You've got a whole future ahead of you, and I...I'd just hold you back."

"You mean I'd hold _you _back."

"No," he shook his head. "no, that's not what I mean." He tried to think of something to say that would ease the hurt that he saw in her eyes, but everything came up short. Finally he did the only thing he could think of and pulled her into a kiss. They took their time, making it last as long as they could before reality had to creep back in and end the stolen moment. She felt her tears return when he broke the kiss, her hands tangled deep in his hair as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"You know I'm here for you, right?" he murmured.

She nodded and pressed her eyes shut as he kissed her cheek, then her forehead. "Thank you. For everything."

He gave a slight smile before leaning in one more kiss to her lips, this time broken by the doctor reentering the room. They pulled apart and the doctor smiled as she said, "Sorry to interrupt. I have a few more things to go over with you, Kim, if you don't mind."

She nodded and walked back to the table, wiping away the lingering moisture under her eyes. The doctor motioned for Tony to step out. He nodded and glanced back at Kim one more time, returning her small smile before walking out the door and into the waiting room, where Jack was by now the only person inside, having scared off the other patients.

Tony didn't know where things stood now, or how the last hour's developments changed the situation, if at all. He vaguely recalled Kim's blurting out of her "pregnancy" saving him from Jack's initial wrath, but now that the threat of becoming family was no longer on the table, he wondered if Jack wouldn't merely pick up where he'd left off. He wouldn't have blamed him. Flashing back to when he had caught them, Tony wondered how _anything_ was able to stop Jack from killing him then & there.

He was going to walk straight past Jack and out into the hallway when Jack stopped him, to his surprise. "Tony," Jack called, Tony's hesitation obvious as he turned at the door. Jack paused and quietly asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Shocked that he was even being asked, Tony nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Jack stepped closer and cleared his throat, glancing around the room before beginning as quietly as he could, "You lucked out today, Tony. We all did. For your sake, I hope you take this entire ordeal as a lesson and learn from it. I cannot begin to express to you just _how much_ of a stupid mistake this was on your part, and I hope I don't have to." He paused and watched as Tony's eyes fell away to the floor, sighing lightly before continuing. "Take this as a second chance. Don't screw it up."

Tony looked up and was surprised to see a lack of anger on Jack's face, recognizing his look as one of...disappointment, more than anything. "So," Tony said after a long silence, "are we okay? Or is it going to be like this forever?"

Jack paused. "Tony, I can't look at you without..." he stopped himself, not wanting to replay the memory.

"I know," Tony replied. "I was just hoping that second chance applied here too."

Then the doctor's office door opened and Kim emerged, stealing both of their attentions. Turning back to Tony, Jack muttered, "We'll see." Then he turned and headed towards his daughter, a weight having been lifted from his shoulders.

Tony watched the pair as they embraced, lingering a moment before turning and reaching for the door. Kim opened her eyes just in time to watch him leave, a sad smile crossing her face as she held her father closer and braced herself for the new normal that awaited outside.


End file.
